"hang on," she said, unsure of what she meant by
"hang on" because she did not want to tell a lie
to say "i will return" was a guarantee
she was not ready to make, so
"hang on" silence on the other end
long distance communication was always hard
telephone calls never served them right
the coils that connected their ears
same circumference but different location
one after another
dependent on each other
the coils that connected their ears
always plural and bound together
no beginning or ending
they "hang on"
she took a walk around the room
looked at the dust on the windowsill
the wastewater dropping down from the neighbor's air conditioner
she paused
grabbed the muscle-fat layers on her neck
and pulled until it hurt a good hurt
looked at the telephone murmuring
still "hang on"
still unsure of what she meant
and continued the make-believe pause
because time waited impatiently and was beginning to walk
"hang on" (she spoke it with a sigh)
"hang on" traveled weakly through an exhaling breath
through the coils that connected their ears
through the long distance phone call placed on pause
"hang on" without its beginning or its end
was caught somewhere in rough transport
was never delivered
was simply "ha..." or "gon..."
was silence on the other end
not "i will return" because she will not return
because "hang on" meant she will try to return
but no promise there
(though it might be nice)
(though it might be false)
so
"hang on," she said.
